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Sticky / Oily / Greasy scalp?!?

I have an weird sticky substance in my hair that NOTHING will get rid of and it's extremely frustrating.  About a month ago i noticed after i got out of the shower and blow dried my hair that the hair at the crown of my head was very oily and sticky (but ONLY at the crown of my head). At first i thought i forgot to wash the conditioner out so the next night I scrubbed thoroughly, but once again the stickiness was still there.  Then i bought a few different brands of clarifying shampoo (thinking it was build-up) and still the same thing.  The oil is def coming from my scalp because at the same time that this happened I started breaking out with acne really bad.  I'm 27 years old and have not broken out this bad since puberty.  Very strange.  So i went to the extremes of trying baking soda, lemon juice, listerine, medicated shampoos, even dawn (for it's grease cutting abilities) and NOTHING gets this substance out of my hair.  It's driving me crazy to the point that i asked my dermatologist to put me on accutane to stop oil secretions.  Has anyone experienced this problem before, and if so, do you know of anything that will get my scalp back to normal.  PS - it has nothing to do with my diet, because i eat extremely healthy and always have.
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Avatar universal
I just thought of something else and am wondering if others might agree. I recently went off the pill. It sounds like this problem may be hormone related (and in particular female hormones as I see no men on this forum!). The hormone theory might make sense for Slm13 because she's 16 (prime hormone years). And, this condition sounds a lot like what happens to newborn babies. Their hormones are in overdrive (even boys) and they get a condition called "Cradle Cap". Look into going on the pill...??
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Avatar universal
BABY SHAMPOO! Try it before anything else please! Worked on the first try for me and I have exactly what you are all talking about. A waxy, sticky patch on the top of my head that started about 3 days ago. But it's gone now! :)
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Avatar universal
I am so glad I have found this website. I literally thought I was going insane. Ok so I am 16 years old and have have this greasy oily problem for five months straight now. A soon as my hair dries my crown on the back of my head, and the area where my side bangs are, get so greasy. I have tried tea tree oil shampoo, nuetragena clarifying shampoo, Johnson's baby shampoo, head and shoulders, listerene, and dish soap. NOTHING HAS WORKED. I have to wear my hair up every single day and its getting to the point where I can't deal with it anymore. I NEED to find a cure,atleast a permanent one. I'm going to go insane. Please if anyone finds anything else let me know!!
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Avatar universal
Hi, I've been reading on this forum, spent the best part of an hour reading all posts! I recently moved overseas, two weeks in my hair has been just disgusting, straight after washing it had the greesy, sticky, waxy feel as has been described here. I'm trying to find a job and didn't think it would do me any favours appearing like I hadn't washed for weeks.

Having read the conditions people have described associated with the sudden greesey feel, the only changes I've made is my shampoo and conditioner to Pantene, moving to the other side of the world - but not particularly stressed 2 weeks in - and deciding to wash my hair every other day rather than everyday like I have for years. I'm not on the pill, don't take any prescribed medication and good all round hygiene.

I had a similar thing when I was a teenager where the top back of my scalp/hair was oily after washing but went away after a few days assuming it must be to do with 'growing up' or so it was suggested, but this threw me. (I'm getting to the point ;) ) After having read through and saw someone comment that it was potentially a fungal issue (which I was horrified by) I had been leaving my hair to dry naturally, often tying it up before it was dry in a top knot, I'm used to British weather and the climate where I am isn't much different but could have played a hand in it, so decided rather than washing my scalp with the suggested apple cider vinegar and Palmolive I tried washing my hair but just once, with a different shampoo and the ends with a small amount of conditioner and sat out in the sun - had I less time and a hair dryer I would have opted for that option - making sure I switched over partings of my hair where the problem was so that it dried and got a good dose of fresh air and this seems *touch wood* to have done the trick, I kept feeling my hair as it dried (which isn't a good idea after having read that touching it contributes to greese but it was the only way of testing it was gone) and it is still 6 hours on, clean, whereas before when it had dried, I wanted to shave it all off.

I am no scientist, this may not work for everyone and I'm keeping an eye on my pennies at the moment, however I do think that aggrivating the scalp with over washing in one go - especially if it is potentially a fungal issue - will make it worse. I'm very glad I found this forum as it's such a blow to your self confidence and fustrating and really helpful to see people being able to suggest solutions.

This has worked for me and hopefully it might for someone else but had it not, I would have tried the baby shampoo, followed by more harsh shampoos in order to get it to go away!
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Avatar universal
UPDATE:

Baby Shampoo WORKED! I had to do it 3 times. The first time didn't lather well because there was so much grease.

I also tried soaking the top of my head with apple cider vinegar before the shower and that did NOT work. It did not work to cut grease. Though I've heard that apple cider vinegar makes a great conditioner (makes soft, shiny hair).

Let's hope it stays gone....
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Avatar universal
This started for me a few days ago, after I had tonsil surgery. Am wondering if surgery/stress/Vicodin is causing this? Anyone else have a surgery/ drug interaction/ stress theory? I've never had this before and it's horrible. Thank you all for the suggestions...my shopping cart is going to be full of random stuff tomorrow because I'm going to try it all!
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